Wondering if you should be considering that T-Mobile 4G phone purchase now that the merger plan has come to light? Read on.

With the news of the AT&T / T-Mobile merger spreading like wildfire, there have been rumblings about the network compatibility implications of the deal. More accurately, how the merger will affect consumers' use of 4G handsets on their respective carriers.

Make no mistake - it has been confirmed that AT&T will slowly disassemble T-Mobile's 4G HSPA+ network over time, converting those HSPA+ bands (the "AWS" spectrum) into LTE frequencies.

Motorola is preparing to release its first over-the-air update for the ATRIX 4G (beta signup link here, open until Friday at 12PM EST), which should be exciting news for owners of the device, though it may end up inspiring more angst than joy.

The ATRIX 4G has been known in particular for two problems since its release: first, a lack of HSUPA (high speed upload) support in the software and, second, poor voice quality on phone calls.

Yesterday at CTIA, Samsung unveiled its revamped Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the all-new Galaxy Tab 8.9 (check out our live coverage of the event). Unfortunately, that's about all Samsung did with them - neither was ever powered on. Samsung's CTIA exhibit housed the new devices in glass security cases (as you can see below), while early "prototypes" of the 8.9 and 10.1 running Honeycomb with Samsung's TouchWiz 4.0 overlay were available for hands-on time, in order to demonstrate some of the software the company plans to include when the devices are released.

The reincarnation of the Sidekick brand didn't quite come as a complete surprise after T-Mobile teased its return back in January, followed by a nice photo leak that showed the latest thumb-killer, this time made by Samsung, in its full glory. However, it's always nice to get official confirmations and specs from the carrier itself, and that's exactly what T-Mobile is gracing us with today.

They say "talk is cheap" - and these days it seems like every major US wireless carrier is claiming to have the fastest 4G (of course 4G is a highly debatable marketing term that describes three vastly different networks, but that's fodder for another post altogether). It's relatively easy to tune all of the marketing hype out but, when presented with some solid numbers, it gets easier to pay attention. PC World has tried to give us some raw data to work with in their profiling of the data speeds on the four major providers.

4G is here - and it seems like all four of America's biggest carriers are more than happy to advertise the fact that they've got it. Sprint was first on the scene - offering their WiMax 4G, and T-Mobile shortly thereafter began its upgrade to HSPA+ technology. Verizon was next, providing mobile broadband LTE via USB dongle for laptops, though its much-awaited debut 4G handset, the Thunderbolt, has yet to hit shelves after numerous delays.

SlashGear has confirmed with HTC today that the Desire HD, Desire Z, and Incredible S (along with the standard Desire) will be receiving the bump to Gingerbread some time in the second quarter of this year. But, there's a potential caveat: US phones might not be included.

It remains unknown if HTC was also referring to carrier-branded versions of the aforementioned devices in its statement, and if it was, if those devices would be receiving updates at the same time as their unlocked, HTC-branded siblings.

AT&T users, rejoice! Brief Mobile has been informed that user DesignGears, along with Getaphixx, has rooted the Motorola Atrix before its official release.

AT&T is notorious for restricting its users to only Market apps. Through rooting, however, non-Market apps can run via sideloading. These privileges also provide an easy way to free users of the bloated social-networking service MOTOBLUR and disable many other unnecessary applications.

About this time last week, I first started playing with our Inspire 4G review unit. And at first blush, I admittedly found myself enamored with this phone. Unfortunately, it was a love that started to splinter as the days went on, and the more I used it, the more I noticed just how unfinished some parts of this phone can feel. Overall, the Inspire is a good phone with the potential to be great, and I'll talk about what's holding it back (software, connectivity) further on in the review.

The Galaxy S 4G is not the most exciting phone coming out on T-Mobile, but if you've been looking at T-Mobile and eyeing the Samsung Vibrant, then the Galaxy S 4G may be for you. It is essentially a 4G (HSPA+21) capable version of the Vibrant that also comes with a front-facing camera and a mobile HD version of the movie Inception (wait, what?). Sorry, it still ships with Froyo - no word on Gingerbread for any T-Mobile phones other than the Nexus S has been released.